Articles | Volume 14, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11129-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11129-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Climatology of free-tropospheric humidity: extension into the SEVIRI era, evaluation and exemplary analysis
M. Schröder
Satellite-Based Climate Monitoring, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach, Germany
OMP/LEGOS/CNRS, Toulouse, France
L. Picon
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06; CNRS/INSU; ENS; Ecole Polytechnique; LMD-IPSL, UMR8539, Paris, France
A. Kniffka
Satellite-Based Climate Monitoring, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach, Germany
H. Brogniez
Université Versailles St-Quentin; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06; CNRS/INSU, LATMOS-IPSL, Guyancourt, France
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A 2003–2017 satellite-based atmospheric water vapour climate data record is used to assess climate models and reanalyses. The focus is on the tropical belt, whose regional variations in the hydrological cycle are related to the tropospheric overturning circulation. While there are similarities in the interannual variability, the major discrepancies can be explained by the presence of clouds, the representation of moisture fluxes at the surface and cloud processes in the models.
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A novel probabilistic approach is proposed to evaluate relative humidity (RH) profiles simulated by an atmospheric model with respect to satellite-based RH defined from probability distributions. It improves upon deterministic comparisons by enhancing the information content to enable a finer assessment of each model–observation discrepancy, highlighting significant departures within a deterministic confidence range. Geographical and vertical distributions of the model biases are discussed.
Vladimir Kostsov, Dmitry Ionov, and Anke Kniffka
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-415, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-415, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
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Combined zenith and off-zenith ground-based observations by modern microwave radiometers provide an opportunity to study horizontal inhomogeneities of cloud cover. However, practical applications are difficult and require thorough analysis due to large variability of cloud parameters and specific observation geometry. We show principal requirements which should be met in order that the land-sea contrast of the cloud liquid water path could be successfully derived from microwave observations.
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